Penny

Sweet Puppy.... as long as she's sleeping

Friday, March 23, 2012

From The Mouths of Babes

I thought going two weeks without blogging was a long time. Now I've gone over a month. I blame my outrageous schedule, and there are a few other reasons that shall be outlined in a future blog. But I have missed writing my thoughts down for the interwebs. I have thought about some blog topics and ways to update my blog, but I've been remiss in adding them. However, my dear friend begged me to update, so I'm updating. Thanks for the kick in the rear, L!

My amazing friend Fazawesome once suggested that in addition to thoughts about my dog and weight loss, I should include cute things my students say. During my student teaching placement, I collected a few of my favorite gems and I am FINALLY getting around to posting them. Enjoy!

During my 4th grade Student Teaching placement:
I loved my 4th graders. They were wonderful. However, my girls were so fidgety and several of them were members of a local cheerleading team. They would not stop doing cheers in the lunch line, which inevitably caused me to get ugly looks from the cafeteria ladies. One day, the food line was exceptionally backed up and one of my little darlings was clapping, turning around to talk to people, and just all around out of control. I asked her to please stand still, adding "you must have the wiggle worms today." Without missing a beat, she looked at me, crossed her arms, and very tersely informed me "I do not have the wiggle worms, I have ADHD". Oh. I see.

During my 2nd grade Student Teaching placement:
I was pretty in love with my second graders too. One girl particularly stole my heart. On my very first day, my Cooperating Teacher had written on the door "Go introduce yourself to the student teacher". This little girl was the only student who came up to me. She shook my hand, said "My name is T-, but no one can ever spell it correctly." I had a lovely little conversation with her. One day, I had gotten up early and on a whim, straightened my hair and put on a little make up. I sat with the students that day at lunch, and this little girl stared at me intensely, and finally demanded why I put make up on. I replied that I just had extra time and felt like a little make up and she told me "You don't need make-up, you're perfect the way you are." It wasn't the funniest thing I heard from the second graders, but it made me feel so good and just brightened my whole day. What a smart little girl.

I also had an amazing autistic boy in my 2nd grade class. He had 3 or 4 older sisters, so he picked up things from them and would repeat them, not knowing what they meant. He made me smile almost daily. One day I was teaching a unit about the states of matter. In 2nd grade, they learn about solids, liquid, and gases. We did an activity to talk about characteristics of gases, and it involved them writing down what they knew about gases. He wrote one sentence describing what a gas was. Then he concluded with "Water is not a gas. Water is for sharks." This made me laugh hysterically for days on end, to the point that I asked him if I could keep it for my portfolio. Fortunately, he obliged, so I have this nugget to keep with me forever and ever.

Once I get my own classroom, I expect that I will keep a notepad around, just to record the things they say. It's amazing what comes out of the mouths of babes. It adds a fun layer into the crazy daily life of a teacher.